Las Vegas Sun editor files lawsuit

8/21/13 10:37 AM EDT

There's a bit of family drama playing out in Sin City, and it could lead to the end of the print edition of the Las Vegas Sun.

The editor of the Sun, Brian Greenspun, is filing a lawsuit alleging his own family members conspired with the operator of the Las Vegas Review-Journal to end a Joint Operating Agreement in place for 24 years that governs publication of the two newspapers, the Review-Journal reports.

At a meeting, stockholders of the Sun voted to end the Joint Operating Agreement, which could effectively end the print edition of the of the paper, although the Greenspuns could attempt to print the newspaper on their own.

Greenspun voted against the measure while his two sisters supported the motion to end the JOA and accept ownership of lasvegas.com, which is owned by the owners of the Review-Journal. The site is being used by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

In the lawsuit, Greenspun said terminating the JOA would violate federal antitrust laws and could leave Las Vegas as a single-newspaper community.

The JOA was established in 1989 because the Sun wasn't profitable and was renegotiated in 2005. Although the two papers share advertising, sales, printing, and distribution operations, they have separate news and editorial functions, according to the Review-Journal.

A letter of intent between the two groups states the Joint Operating Agreement would be terminated for a cost of $10, and lasvegas.com would be transferred to the Greenspuns for $70,000 per sibling. The Department of Justice would have to approve the deal.